


Misconceptions of a Shark

by Insomiak



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Minor stalking happens (Rin follows Nitori somewhere), Rin is really emotional idk what happened I'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-05 19:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1097499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Insomiak/pseuds/Insomiak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Sempai, are you crying?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Misconceptions of a Shark

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Christmas present for ミンミン (^~^)/
> 
> This is the cutest/silliest thing I have ever written I am ashamed of the sweetness of it (not really). But I do think Rin is a little out of character so my apologies u.u

 

Nitori asks him a weird question, one Friday night.  

 "Um, sempai…" 

The more Rin gets to know his roommate, the less weird he finds him - umbilical cords and old anatomical bug sketch books and porn magazines all belonging to the same person is an everyday thing for Rin.  So when Rin says "weird," he means something outside of Nitori's usual realm of irregularity, something he never thought Nitori would ever ask him.

"Do you… um… Do you think you could give Nanase-san my number and ask him to text me?  I don't want to ask for his incase he doesn't want to talk to me, but this way it's up to him.  So." 

Rin lifts an eyebrow, forcing his face to stay calm while the fires of hell brood in his gut.  "Sure," is all he says.  Sure.  No problem but _what the fuck do you want to talk to 'Nanase-san' about that you can't talk to me about?_ It's a question that Rin keeps suppressed into his heart and will not voice, because as much as he's come to see Nitori as a friend and not just some kohai, there are some things - some feelings - that are better left dead inside him.  Like the way warmth blooms in his chest when blue eyes widen in shock after Rin says something boarding on nice, the way his heart fucking leaps into his mouth whenever Nitori climbs down that ladder with his shorts and his bed-head and that small yawn that Rin's ears are beginning to equate with _home_ and _safe_ and _cute_ , or the mounting pressure Rin feels to smile whenever Nitori manages to swim faster and looks over at Rin first and at no one else until Rin grins wide at him, or the way Rin's pants tighten if Nitori tires himself out training and breathes heavily, sweating, or bends over in the locker room in just a towel and Rin has to bite his lip and pray to fucking God no one notices his dick is half hard and wonders to himself if Nitori isn't doing it on purpose - but then, those clear eyes always look at him in a friendly way, admiring, like Rin is his role-model and so Rin's heart shatters every time.

"Really sempai?"  Wide eyes gleam at him.  "You’ll give it to him?" 

Rin watches his lips move and has to turn around to swallow, mouth dry.  "Yeah."

 

* * *

 

During the next three weeks, Nitori is hardly ever in their dorm.  Not after classes or on the weekends.  He's always rushing out, making the same obvious excuse that he has Christmas shopping to do for his family, and Rin knows he's lying because Nitori can't lie to save his life, always has to look away and say it into the ground while he bows his head and runs out of their room.  It's not as if Rin expects Nitori to be here at a certain time, and no way would he ever demand it, but when he wonders to himself where Aiichiro is actually going during the evenings and on weekends, only one answer seems to fit in his mind.  _Haru's_.  Because Rin _had_ sent Haru Nitori's number and a short message like 'he wants something not sure what text him,' and Haru had actually for some reason done it, he'd texted Nitori.  At first, Rin suspected Makoto had something to do with it, but now that Nitori is disappearing literally every spare second he has and lying about where and staying up late texting on his phone and smiling to himself absolutely content and not looking at Rin at all anymore… 

Rin's starting to fear he might've just set up his two friends without meaning to.  

He must be going to see Haru, nothing else makes any sense; he smiles and hums to himself like he's in love and avoids Rin completely, and Haru is always hurrying away after joint practices…. 

Is he really Aiichiro's type?  Aloof, a little passive, picky (there are good things to say about Haru but since he might've just lost the guy he's inarguably infatuated with to him Rin decides ignore this) - does Aiichiro like that sort of person?  Is this really happening?  Is Haru stealing Nitori away?  _He'd have to be yours in the first place for that to be true,_ his mind offers cynically.  Rin growls and kicks the underside of the desk in his dorm.  Why the fuck does Haru always get everything he wants?  He's already got Makoto, someone to rely on and be there for him.  Does he need to take that away from Rin?  His… His… 

 _Your what?  He's your what?_  

The door cracks open, and Aiichiro walks in.  He's texting, head now, and doesn't greet him with his usual cheesy "I'm home!" and hasn't done it for weeks now.  Rin turns his back, pretending to study. 

"Ne sempai, I have to go out again.  I'll see you."   

He picks up his bag and leaves. 

The sound of the door shutting has a finality Rin doesn't want to admit.  Because it can't be true.  Nitori always follows him around, always looks at him for recognition and encouragement and…  

And none of that means _anything_ compared to how he's been acting ever since he'd gotten Haru's number.  He sings to himself in the shower for fuck's sake.  He couldn't be anymore obviously twitterpated if he had a sign strung across his back reading _I just started seeing a stupid dolphin who isn't right for me at all and doesn't treat me nearly as good as my roommate would if he wasn't too emotionally stunted to tell me how he really feels._

Rin drops his forehead onto his desk and tries to ignore the way his heart rings in his ears. 

He has an idea.  It's a bit deplorable, but he _needs_ to know.  After that, he can move on, give up, crawl into his bed with chocolates and cry at a bad movie or whatever you're supposed to do when someone doesn't love you back.   

Rin stands up and heads out the door, following Aiichiro.  

 

. . .

 

When Nitori turns the final corner towards Haru's house, Rin feels his gut twist into ugly knots.  He hadn't been sure at first - and even up until the point that Nitori gotten off at the same stop as Haru’s place, Rin had held onto the hope that it was just a coincidence - but now, there's really no other explanation.  He practically has his answer. 

So why is he still following him? 

Hating himself - feeling sick - Rin stalks (that is the only word for it) Nitori all the way to Haru's.  He presses himself around the side of his house, listening in as Nitori knocks on the front door. 

"Yo," Haru says.   

 _What's with the casual greeting?_  

"Good afternoon, Haruka-sempai." 

_Haruka-sempai?!_  

Nitori is let inside.  Rin slips around Haru's house, nerves on fire, knowing he should just stop because it's obvious by now but maybe, just fucking maybe, this is all some horrible misunderstanding.  He presses an ear against the thin wooden wall under a window, straining to hear. 

"Thank you… ka-sempai." 

"… problem." 

He can only catch a few words. 

"I… question, since...." 

"What is it?"  Haru must have moved somewhere, because Rin can hear his voice clearly now. 

"Do… ..chiro… …. which is better?" 

There's a long pause.  He must be considering something? 

Eventually, Haru speaks again. 

"Ai." 

Rin freezes.  The word echoes inside his head - _Ai_ \- carrying Haru’s timbre and spoken so easily; Haru continues talking but Rin can’t hear anything, the weight of reality slowly settling over him.  His knees turn into water and he falls onto the snow, sinking down into it. 

 _That’s it, then._  

Feeling entirely empty, Rin goes home.

 

* * *

  

Nitori looks into the oven in Haru's kitchen, watching the cake rise slowly in the heat.  He feels really intrusive doing this.  For the past three weeks, he's been coming to Haruka-sempai's home to practice baking a cake.  Christmas is in a few days, and he honestly has no idea what to buy for Rin - can only think of practical things like swimsuits, and sort of wants his gift to have more of a personal connotation.  A homemade cake seemed like the perfect idea!  Only he's never made one before, and there aren't any ovens in the dormitory.  He knew that Haruka-sempai lived alone, so he wouldn't be inconveniencing an entire family by coming here and cooking every day.  And he knew that Haruka-sempai was a good cook.

In total, Nitori has made about thirty practice cakes in his kitchen.  He bakes two each time, because he wants to check the taste without ruining the cake, taking a few bites out of one.  They haven’t tasted quite right (since he refuses to let Haruka-sempai help him too much and he’s really never done this before), so he’s left them in the Samezuka cafeteria for the swim team to eat.  They clean it up quick so sempai never has a chance to figure out what's going on!  Nitori feels like he's being pretty ingenious with the whole thing, honestly.   

"Thank you very much for letting me use your home, Haruka-sempai," Nitori says as Haru moves to join him in looking at the cake in the oven.  "I hope that this one works, so I can be out of your way." 

Haru shrugs.  "It's no problem.  I like cooking, so…  But I think this one will work.  It's rising nicely."  

Nitori smiles at his focused face, Haru’s dark eyes zoning in on the cake.  _Haruka-sempai really does love cooking._  

"Um.."  Aiichiro starts, "I have a question, since you've known sempai longer… It's sort of embarrassing though."   

Haru moves across the room, digging out the contents needed to make icing.  "What is it?" 

Opening and closing his mouth and turning a little pink, Nitori manages to ask.  "Well… Rin-sempai sometimes… He sometimes calls me 'Ai,'" he flushes darker, "and it would fit on the cake better, to sign it like that, it would take less space, but I don't want to scare him with this - he can be sort of shy, you know?  So which do you think is better?  Just 'Ai' or my full name or nothing?"  He hides his face in his hands as he finishes. 

Haru thinks for a moment, and then says, "'Ai.'"  He looks at Nitori.  "I think it would be better to be direct with Rin." 

Nitori peeks through his fingers.  "Really??  Be direct?  How?" 

"Well," he starts emptying sugar into a bowl, "Something obvious.  Physical." 

"Physical?  What do you mean?"

Haru looks pointedly at the bowl, eyes narrowing.  "The deal was I let you use my kitchen and help you bake.  If you want emotional advice, you can ask Makoto when he gets here." 

Aiichiro stutters and apologizes.   

If everything goes well with the cake today, he can surprise Rin with it tonight, and they can talk together again.  Nitori's not good at keeping secrets from Rin, so he's resigned himself to avoiding him, and it's starting to make him feel lonely. 

He leans over to watch the cake rise, light from the warm oven making his eyes glow. 

_Please taste good this time…_

 

* * *

 

When Rin gets back to his room, he collapses into his bed and burrows under his blankets.  His whole body feels hollow.  They never talked about it, but he'd thought his nickname for Nitori was something special - him saying sorry for everything that happened in the only way he could manage, letting Nitori in, accepting him, trying not to be afraid of trusting him.  Hearing Haru say it had been like a sharp stab in the back.  Knowing Nitori was there to hear it, has probably heard it many times, had been worse.  It feels like he's been replaced.  Does Nitori look at Haru with wide blue eyes and praise him?  Will Rin have to go to competitions and listen to Nitori cheering for Haru instead?  Will he end up being the best-man at their wedding and have to fucking smile and pretend he's fine with it?!   

No - no - he's not thinking about this clearly.  Above anything, Aiichiro just needs to be happy.  Rin will bare it; if he loves Haru and lets Haru call him 'Ai' and spends all of his time with him, if the way Nitori smiles while he texts or sings happily in the shower is because of Haru, then Rin will just have to… 

let it go. 

He'll never call Nitori 'Ai' again or go out and eat together, never praise him for shortening his swim time or have someone to talk to about his father or have movie nights together, no more sharing breakfast or getting teased for staring at him or waiting for Nitori after practice, never have him to lean on again when Rin can't handle another nightmare.  But he doesn't want all of that to just be gone.   How can it be there one second, so solid and safe, and then disappear the next?  How can he keep himself together if it was always Nitori reminding him of why he should?  And Rin knows he can do this alone, that he doesn't need Aiichiro - it's not about needing anything.  He _wants_ his calm smile and shy reactions and careful words and his hard chest and the way he never gives up on anyone, the way he breathes in deeply every morning and smiles and asks Rin if he wants to shower first and his bed-head, his sleepy yawn, his perverted magazines, his unconscious selflessness, his bright blue eyes, his fucking _everything_ , Rin wants all of it, the good and the bad.  Being friends will be fine, someday.  But for now, lying hidden under his blankets with the lights off and the sun setting and his hands covering his face, Rin cries his heart out. 

No one has to know, and he couldn't hold the tears back even if he tried.   

He wishes he'd bought chocolate on the way home.   

At least Nitori is with someone he knows, someone Rin trusts.  At least -  

The sound of a key opening a lock echos through the room.  Rin sucks in a harsh breath of air, tears still streaming down his cheeks. 

"Sempai!"  Aiichiro's happy voice fills the tiny room and Rin's broken heart all at once.  "Are you here?  I have something for - "  He cuts off.  Rin hears footsteps walk towards the bed.   

"Huh?  What are you doing?" 

Rin swallows.  "Nothing."  His voice is hoarse, ragged, cracked. 

Fingers press into his shoulder through the blanket Rin is hiding under.  " _Sempai_ ," he says with building concern, airy, "Are you okay?  What's wrong?  Did something happen?  Is someone hurt?" 

Rin wants to scream.  But he can't be angry at Nitori - it's not like he knows how Rin feels.  It's not like Rin ever swallowed his pride and just told him, or kissed him, or done anything other than assume it would happen someday, assume that of course Aiichiro likes him too.  With the way he's always clinging, of course he does… But he doesn't.  He never had.  Rin had gone and fallen in love with Nitori without really knowing when or how it happened and he's lost him the same way. 

"Sempai, are you _crying_?" 

"I…" 

Nitori pulls the covers off of Rin slowly, giving him plenty of time to reject the action. 

Rin doesn't. 

"Sempai…" Aiichiro falls to his knees when he sees Rin's face, "What's wrong?  What is it?"  He reaches a hand out and twists it into red hair, holding his head.   

Rin clamps his eyes shut.  He'd expected Nitori to be _surprised_ , to reel back with disbelief or maybe stand uselessly in the middle of the room while the person he looks up to falls apart, not knowing what to do.  But cool fingers play with his hair, stopping to scratch his scalp gently and Rin can smell the soap he uses after practice he's so close, sitting on his knees next to the bed.  Fuck - when did he become so reliable?   

Hasn't he always been? 

"If it's something you can't tell me I understand," Aiichiro says, placing his palm on the side of Rin's face.  Rin keeps his eyes shut tight.  He can feel Nitori's thumb rubbing at his temple, cool and just the lightest pressure against his warm skin.  "But is there anything I can do?"  

Wondering when the fuck he'd become so emotional, so _attached_ , he brings his own hand up to cover Nitori's where it's set against Rin's face.  It's some pathetic attempt to force him to stay.  To hold him so Nitori can't leave yet, just a little longer. 

"Sempai…" 

"I know, okay?"  Rin says, snapping his eyes open with a sharp glare.  "I know what you've been doing for the past three weeks.  So just fucking - _stop_."  He lifts Nitori's hand away from his face and drops it onto the bed.   

Nitori's eyes droop with sullen disappointment.  "You _know_?  But I…" He leans in closer, "I was so careful to hide everything, sempai!  How did you find out?  Haruka-sempai didn't tell you, did he?" 

Rin's chest goes tight as Nitori says Haru's name like that - remembering hearing Aiichiro call him 'Rin-sempai' for the first time and thinking it was something meant for just him.  "No, Haru didn't tell me," he says, avoiding his gaze because he's finally stopped crying and doesn't want to start again, "I… You've been ignoring me for weeks, so I followed you today." 

"What??"  Nitori's eyes widen like two endless blue skies and Rin can't help but look into them then, feeling drawn in and overtaken immediately.  His heart leaps somewhere deep in his chest as Aiichiro looks intently at him.  "You followed me?  All the way to Haruka-sempai's?" 

Rin looks away.  "It was bad of me." 

"Well…" 

"Look, just say it, okay?  I can't… Just tell me already." 

"Tell you…?"  Nitori looks worryingly at him, and shifts on his knees to set their faces still closer together, hands gripping the edge of the mattress.  "But why are you _crying_ , sempai?  It can't be because of that." 

Rin glares.  "Tell me what you were doing at Haru's everyday for the past three weeks."  He needs to hear Nitori say it.  That way it'll be certain, final.  That way, he wont have all this pointless lingering hope that comes with Nitori being so attentive.   

Aiichiro withers a bit, mouth turning down in a pout.  "Okay sempai, if you want…"   

Nitori reaches down to the floor, into a plastic bag.  Rin can hear it rustling.  Then, he lifts up a small red and green box with a silver bow and, still looking a little depressed, sets it on the bed.   

Rin blinks at it. 

"It was supposed to be a surprise, but…" Nitori smiles at him sweetly.  "Merry Christmas, Rin-sempai." 

Eyes red and dry, Rin looks at the box and then up at Aiichiro, cocking one eyebrow.  "What?" 

"I know it's not for three days, but I couldn't wait… It's really lonely having to keep secrets from you, even if they are good ones." 

"What?" 

"I hope you're not crying because you hate cake." 

" _What??_ " 

Nitori pouts at him.  "Haruka-sempai said you liked chocolate, so I thought it would be okay."  Rin doesn't move.  Nitori's eyes start to water and his lip quivers and his voice shakes, "You… You don't want it, sempai?" 

Rin's mind races with a thousand futile attempts at trying to make sense of everything.   

"Aren't…" He starts, still looking at the present, "Aren't you going out with Haru?" 

Nitori blinks at Rin.  "What?  Where did you get that idea from?" 

"You go his place everyday!" 

Aiichiro begins to fret as Rin's voice rises with anger.  He takes Rin’s hand suddenly, surprising him with a pleading look.  "That was just to make this!"  

"And you call him 'Haruka-sempai.'" 

"But - But - that's his _name_!" 

Rin glares and tries to take his hand back, but Nitori holds on tight.  "And you're always smiling at your phone when you text him and you sing in the fucking shower like some love-struck twelve year old and you haven't said more than ten words to me since I gave him your number!" 

"Sempai!" 

"What the fuck am I supposed to think?!"  Rin's breath hitches and he fights back a sob, or a scream, he can't tell. 

" _Sempai_ …" Nitori nearly whines, kneading the hand squeezed between his.  "I don't know what you're talking about.  I'm not going out with anyone.  I just needed to use Haruka-sempai's oven." 

"For three weeks?!" 

Aiichiro nods. "I've never baked a cake before, so I needed to practice, and then they all didn't taste right… Even this one isn't perfect but…"  Rin watches blue eyes look at him sadly.  "Like I said, it's no fun having to lie to you all the time."  Nitori wilts.  "I can't do it anymore."  

Rin stares at the box, refusing to believe it.  "You're dating him." 

"I'm _really_ not."   

"But… I heard - " 

"Sempai! if I was dating someone you'd be the first person to know," Nitori says, looking at him with concern again, "I'd never keep something like that from you."  Aiichiro shifts his hand to thread their fingers together, holding Rin's even tighter.  Then his eyes widen only a fraction, and he inhales softly.  "That's - sempai - is that what you were crying about?" 

Rin feels hot embarrassment surge through him, right down to the pit of his stomach.  

"Do you _like_ Haruka-sempai?" 

And then all of that embarrassment turns into anger.  Of course Nitori would fucking misunderstand. 

"No," Rin says, angling his head upwards to gaze at Aiichiro, knowing his face is red and wet and that he's a mess, feeling tired, worn out, and just completely _done_ with everything, all at once.  "I don't like Haru."  He brings a hand up to Nitori's head, cupping it around the back; his heart thuds so hard in his chest he can feel blood pounding behind his eyes.   

"Semp - " 

Rin pulls his head down and kisses a pair of pink lips that have been driving him crazy since the day he'd met Nitori Aiichiro.   

When there's no sign of protest, he breathes out slowly and draws Nitori in further, rolling over onto his back to pull Nitori half-way on top of him, until he’s standing on his knees and leaning over Rin.  He doesn't return the kiss, but he's not pushing Rin away, either.  Moving his lips, kissing him gently, Rin tucks a strand of silver hair behind an ear and Aiichiro sighs at that, lulling his head against Rin's hand.  So he does it once more, tracing a curved line from Aiichiro's temple to the cords of his neck, keeping their lips pressed together.  His heart thumps happily when Nitori sighs again.  A small gasp parts Rin's lips when Nitori's fingers find his face - surprising him - pressing lightly on his cheeks where tears have long dried up.  He takes in a full breath of Aiichiro's scent, warm and familiar.  Hardly touching him at all, Rin trails fingers softly down his sides and slides their mouths against each other, just ghosting over Nitori's lips.  He feels a heady thrill course through him at the action, something light and feathery that forces his hands to move under Nitori's shirt, feeling his bare skin with one finger after another, tracing faint shapes across his waist and back, a breathless calm surrounding them. 

Nitori sighs for a third time and Rin doesn't think he's ever heard anything sweeter in his entire life. 

"Sempai," Aiichiro says against his mouth.  His lids flutter open as he pulls away, eyes hazed over with a quixotic, starry shine, the blacks of them overtaking the blue completely - and then he freezes, looking down at Rin, pupils shrinking in sudden comprehension.  He's completely still as he breathes, tense, hardly any empty space between their faces, still on his knees on the floor and pressed into the bed.  Wide eyes search Rin's, alert and enthralled, but scared, like he's finding something new he'd never thought about before. 

Rin feels his face growing warm, but he keeps staring up at Nitori, not wanting to miss a second of the way he's looking back at him.   

"Sempai," Nitori says again after a moment, breaking the hush in the room.  His wide eyes start to falter, fear and confusion and worry filling them.  "What - Why - " he says, shifting to move away from Rin, sitting back on the floor on his knees, "Do you… Do you…" His voice sinks to a shy whisper, his face pink, "Do you like _me_?" 

Rin nods once at him, keeping his expression neutral while his heart threatens to go into cardiac arrest. 

"Were you crying because - " 

"Yes," Rin says before Nitori can finish, not wanting to hear it.   

"No way," Aiichiro shakes his head, "No way sempai would cry over me." 

Rin ignores this - or at least doesn't respond to it, because he fucking _did_ , he cried over Nitori like a child who'd had his favourite stuffed animal taken away, selfish and immature, as if he's somehow entitled to him; which of course Rin knows he isn't, that Nitori isn't some _thing_ he can take, but the idea that Nitori wanted someone else had obliterated any rationality Rin had, at least for awhile.   

He looks up at the bottom of the top bed.  "What about you?"  Rin says, sure Nitori can hear how fast his heart is beating.   

"What?" 

Rin presses the heels of his hands into his eyes, begging his voice not to crack.  "How do you feel about me?" 

"I - I - " Nitori sounds like he's blushing, and Rin hates that he knows exactly how he looks without actually seeing him, that the rise and fall of his voice is imprinted in his mind so vividly.  "I've never thought about you like _that_ , but…" Aiichiro pauses and bites his bottom lip for a moment.  "But you're the one I'm always thinking about lately, when I sing in the shower and even when I'm texting Haruka-sempai, since it was about your present…"  

Then Rin does look at him, holding his breath. 

"Can you give me some time to think about it?"  Nitori asks him, eyes focused and serious and determined and wholly attentive so that when Rin does finally breathe again, he feels like Nitori is holding him steady, catching him as he falls even more.   

Rin nods, not sure if he can verbally answer his question, not trusting his voice.   

Nitori lights up at him in response.  "Do you want to open your present now?" 

Again, Rin only nods, trying to slow his heart rate to something human and failing as he flounders in disbelief.  Nitori isn't going out with anyone.  He'd made Rin a Christmas present, worked on it tirelessly for weeks, and he'd just let Rin kiss him… Rin had just _kissed_ him… Oh.  _Oh_ -  How many times has he thought about it?  Dreamed about it, waking up in a panicked sweat?  And he'd done it and Aiichiro had _let_ him, had sighed against his lips.  

Still not believing it, he watches as Nitori stands up.  He lifts the box into his hands, then holds it out to Rin with a small pout.  "I'm sorry you already know what it is…"

"It's my fault," Rn replies, averting his gaze and sitting up on the mattress with his feet on the floor. 

He takes the box and opens it with gentle fingers, feeling Nitori's eyes on him.  Carefully, Rin pulls out a small circular cake, about the size of his hand.  On top of it there's a grey fondant shark with a row of white teeth and adorable black eyes, swimming in ocean blue icing.  It looks up at Rin with two pink circles on its cheeks, grinning at him with abandon.  Below it, there's a small message written in white: _Merry Christmas Rin-sempai_ \- and then smaller, underneath that in pink to match the shark's blush: _From Ai_.    

Nitori rushes to explain, "I hope it's okay that I wrote it that way, it just took up less room and since the cake is sort of small…"  He goes on, "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be insistent or anything." 

Rin glares at the cute shark.  "Do you let anyone else call you that?" 

"Huh?"  Nitori stares at him in rapid confusion.  "Call me what?" 

"Ai." 

Then he starts, shoulders jerking up with surprise at the accusation.  "N-No, it's just you." 

Looking up at him, at his honest expression, Rin feels his chest loosen finally.   

"Anyway, Sempai…" Aiichiro looks at him, anxious.  Rin hadn't known he was good at this sort of thing, good with his hands or at anything artsy.  But his fingers are long and thin, perfect for moulding all the tiny details and all those individual teeth. "Do you like it?" 

Rin looks at him.  "It’s cute.  I didn’t know you were good at stuff like this.” 

“I’m not - ” he shakes his head, “Haruka-sempai taught me,” Aiichiro says, clearly growing flustered at the small compliment.  "Um, well, there's a fork inside the box, sempai, so if you want, please try some." 

Rin continues to look at him.  Then, keeping his face as calm as he can, he reaches a hand out and tugs at Nitori's shirt. 

"Feed me," he says bluntly. 

"What?" 

"You heard me," Rin says, frowning and feeling his cheeks heat up.  "Come here and feed me." 

"I - um - " Face just as flushed as Rin's, Aiichiro takes a step towards him, letting Rin pull him by his shirt at the same time.  "O-Okay…"  Slowly, eyes locked onto red ones, looking excited and nervous at the same time, he sits down sideways on Rin's lap, toes just gracing the floor as he lands on Rin's thighs.   

Shifting to centre their shared gravity better, Rin traces a line behind Nitori's ear, pushing his hair back.  "Relax, okay?  I know you still need to think about it."

Nitori leans into Rin’s hand and sighs in agreement, or thankfulness, before taking the fork out of the box. 

He cuts away a small bit of cake, something determined gleaming in his eyes as he brings it to Rin's lips.  His hand holding the fork is shaking a little, while the other presses itself into his lap.   

"H-Here you go, sempai." 

Opening his mouth, Rin moves to slide the forkful of cake between his lips. 

Nitori's toes tap at his ankles as he kicks lightly, excited.  "Do you like it?" 

Rin leans back a little, setting his arms around Nitori's waist while the warm taste of chocolate fills his mouth.  

"Mm," he agrees, "More."   

"Sempai, if you say it like that, it sounds sort of dirty," Nitori says as casually as he would comment on the weather.

Rin blushes, hard.  "Just shut up and give me another bite." 

"Sempai, that _still_ sounds dirty." 

Rin ignores him and eats another forkful of cake. 

Nitori feeds him the entire thing, humming happily on top of Rin and asking him more than once if he really likes it or not.  It's dizzying, during it - Rin's never felt this relaxed before, something so comfortable and sweet.  The constant press of Aiichiro in his lap, the taste of chocolate in his mouth and the persistent urge to pull Nitori down into a quiet kiss - holding himself back - all of this sneaks into his heart and Rin is entirely content, feels it rush through him like a warm wind.  There will be more mornings together, more looks from Nitori asking for his praise and more cool fingers holding his head if he thrashes awake after a bad dream because even if Nitori _doesn't_ like him, even if he doesn't feel the same way, there's trust between them and he wouldn't replace Rin, not with anyone.  His face breaks into an uncontrollable grin and he has to set his forehead on Aiichiro's shoulder to hide it. 

After Rin eats the last bite of cake, Nitori smiles at him and, while Rin is looking away, just holding him in his lap sort of lazily - Aiichiro places a soft kiss on his cheek.  

Rin blinks and turns to face him. 

"Merry Christmas, sempai."  And then Nitori is kissing him again, softly, on the lips.  Rin finds himself leaning forwards to try and chase his mouth when Aiichiro pulls away too soon.  "I promise to think hard about it." 

His stomach hurts a bit from eating so much cake - but while looking up into honest blue eyes, Rin doesn't mind at all.

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> See it was so sweeeet and cooorrrnnnyyy ~ /////


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